Change is the only constant and everything comes to an end but life moves on! This is something we realised last week when Seemal Hashmi hinted about her leaving City@10, her show on City 42.
Later the news was confirmed by Juggun Kazim, as she revealed about her leaving the network and the morning show. She also mentioned that Seemal Hashmi will take over the show as the new host of 24 News HD’s morning show.
We reached out to the news anchor and TV presenter, Seemal Hashmi and while talking to MediaSpring Pk, Seemal said:
“It was very hard for me to leave the show. City@10 is like my baby show. Six and a half years counts as a long time and there are countless memories. Channel and the show have gone through many updates and format changes but thanks to Almighty Allah we have always managed to get ratings. Just like my good memories with the network, I do hope great for the future too.”
Seemal has done a tremendous job with City@10 and now she is going 24@9 for a national TV channel. While talking about national TV show challenges Seemal said:
“It is going to be very challenging, I m not going to lie, because I have to work on various aspects, challenges of a regional TV channel and morning show of it are different as compared to national TV. On local channel or localised content things are on your fingertips because of the experience but on the national channel to handle things is more challenging but Insha’Allah, we will pull it off. I hope the new task which was given to me and channel has shown trust in my I do it well and repay the trust in a befitting manner.”
Talking about the format of the show, Seema – who is among the pioneers of doing news based morning shows – said:
“It is not to be going a bling bling show it’s going to be a serious infotainment morning show. We already see on different channels our fellow anchors and colleagues are doing a good job. First and foremost 24 News is a news channel and has a reputation of providing quality content and the case with this morning show is not going to be different at all. With 24@9 the aim is to provide information and news to the people in a subtle yet effective manner so that the sanctity of the news or information is not lost. At the same time, it is also our duty to inform our viewer and make him more aware. That is why we have an awareness segment where we will include topics and guests from all walks of life.”
Talking about the journey of City@10 Seemal recalls Fara Yousuf (now Fara Iqrar) who started the show and how it has shaped up as one of the top-ranked morning shows of the country. “When Fara started the show it was the only morning show back then which was based on current affairs. Nearly seven years ago when I took it up the core format remained the same however we kept on changing and adding a few things,” said the morning show host.
She further said:
“I think it is a success of City@10 that on national TV gradually trends changed and now such shows are making ratings on a-lister channels. I aim to take all that I have learned with me and do it all on a grand scale with 24@9. It is also pertinent to mention that the love which I get from Lahore and the viewers of city 42 I really hope and I expect insha’Allah that I get same love and support from national TV viewers too.”
The fellow anchor and best friend of Seemal Hashmi, Ana Yousuf is going to take over the hosting seat of City@10.
“I don’t know honestly what makes the morning show successful. It is not one thing, It requires content and an anchor to execute it on screen and a team who support this execution from start till the end. So basically a team effort and good content can fit the bill.” says Seemal Hashmi.
The new show 24@9 is going to have two anchors as hosts of the show. Seemal believes that if two anchors are doing the show then the coordination between them is a must.
“News type morning show is not just a replacement of a morning news bulletin, therefore, it doesn’t mean that you only have to discuss the news, in fact, you have to put a variety to it some addons to it. I think such addons are the keys to a successful morning show,” says the morning show host. She further said:
“Although I have been doing the morning show on local TV, City 42, I have also been keenly following National TV morning shows of the same genre especially Geo News and ARY News ones. These two shows are doing a tremendous job and they have established a viewership. I won’t say that 24@9 is going to compete with them but having said that we will be adding different things to our show to make it look different from the other shows so that it has its own identity and position, insha’Allah.”
Seemal says that her viewers are her strength:
“Whatever I am today it is because of my viewers. The love and support I got with City 42 and City@10 was like fuel for me that kept me going. Hence I hope the support and love from the viewers will continue for me in 24@9. I need all my viewers to watch my news show and wish me luck.”
24@9 will start soon on 24 News HD and it will air every Monday to Friday at 9 am. The promo of the show will be released soon.
Leave a Reply